Archive for September, 2012

I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone! We’ve had a lot of change around here with Monster no1 finally starting school, but we seem settled in to the new routine. I’m really pleased he has settled in so quickly, although I’m not surprised, he is so confident and out going he easily makes friends (I don’t know where he gets it from??).

Looking back its actually been pretty relaxed around here, we managed to spend a lot of time together as a family before my sister left for Spain, which has been really nice. We also had my mum and Sean’s birthdays which meant lots of cake and eating out, which can’t be bad can it!

Here’s my Photo a Day round up, I’m really pleased I managed to get a photo every day. Did you give it a go this month? How did you do?

Chantelle has put Octobers list up over on her blog (you can find it here) and I’ve put the list below too. I would love to know if you are joining in too so if you let me know in the comments below where you post your photos I will follow you.

On the sewing front I’ve had a few custom orders this month which is great as I need the distraction while I wait for my AMH bag pattern to arrive. Don’t forget I am happy to take custom orders so if you are after something special please email me or convo me on Etsy.

I had strict instructions from Monster no1 last night to make him a new pencil case as his old cheapy one broke yesterday. Here’s what I came up with

I’m a sucker for a bit of Summersville! I lined it with a bright red solid scrap I had and a matching red zip, job done.

Just before I go, I’ve listed some new items over in my Etsy shop, including a few Christmas Stockings and Advent Calendars, ready for you to peruse.

You may have noticed that a few weeks ago my website header had a little makeover. Lets be honest my original logo was a bit, well, naff. It was there to do a job until I could come up with something that represented me and JAK & GEEGEE, nothing too busy, just something simple but with a little twist.

So after a lot of thinking and shopping around I commissioned WinchesterLambourne over at Etsy to design my new logo. I was really impressed by the quality and speed of service. The logo was exactly what I had in mind and I was so pleased with it I also had my new business cards designed too! I would definitely recommend WinchesterLambourne if you need any Graphic design work done.

I really wanted to have some cute little folded labels to add to my JAK & GEEGEE products, everyone loves that little something extra when buying handmade (plus I could do with the free advertising). I also recently met with Trading Standards and they thought the label would be great for displaying care instructions.

I ordered these little cotton beauties from Sasha at TagsandLabels, you can find the etsy shop here (I think I have an unhealthy obsession with Etsy).

I think the labels look great, don’t you? They are really easy to stitch into seams as they aren’t too thick, the only little issue is they don’t like being pinned in place so I have to place them carefully when stitching.

The XL Make-up bag is a going away gift I made for my little sister who is moving to Spain for a while, hope you have an amazing time Little Frankie and we will all miss you! If you like the make-up bag you can contact me on here through the comments or the contact form to order one or over on my Etsy shop through the contact me or request custom item buttons (shameless plug over now).

I’ve been moaning for ages that I want a new day bag to cart all my crap round in, you know with two kids a handbag is actually a portable life support system. Anyway I couldn’t find one I liked (that didn’t cost a bajillion pounds) so I decided to make one and this is what I’ve chosen. I’m a little nervous as I haven’t made a bag this detailed before, it has lots of straps and pockets, I normally work with simpler patterns but I need to be brave and just get on with it. I can’t wait for the pattern to arrive, promise I will update you as I go along, even if I do make a hash of it!

I’m thinking about using some super yummy animal print from Anna’s new collection Field Study for parts of the bag, what do you think?

The lady in the know, Katy (over at I’m a Ginger Monkey), introduced me to this amazing collection from Anna, if you like animal print as much as I do then this line is for you! The colours look great, it comes in three palettes,

Moonlit

Gypsy

And Patina

Along with the animal print (did I mention the animal print?!) there are beautiful butterflies, peacock feathers and plenty of florals, I think I may be in love!

I know, I know I’ve been slacking in the blog department lately, it’s been busy around here but I know that’s no excuse so I’m sorry.

Since I last posted the monsters seem to have really grown up, Monster no2 has decided he wants to potty train, so all he seems to say is “wee wee, wee wee mummy!” he quickly worked out that to avoid bedtime or the naughty corner all he has to do is shout the W word and whip off his trousers! Having said that he is doing really well, even waking up in the night a few times to go on the toilet. Monster no1 is rapidly growing up, it’s his first day at school tomorrow, only mornings to start, he is so excited and I am too…..it’s just….he seems so grown up but he’s still my baby. It’s going to feel strange without him at home once he goes full days.

This week we’ve celebrated my mum and Sean’s birthdays. My poor mum had to have some nasty injections at the hospital on her birthday, we had a quiet afternoon together so she could open her pressies. She has an unhealthy obsession with Marmite so I made her a Marmite Hamper

And this Snoopy make-up bag.

Oh no wait, yup that’s right, I somehow managed to delete the photo of said make-up bag but I’m sure you can imagine what it looks like (I’m a complete muppet and will include a new photo on my next post).

Months ago I was doing a bit of fabric shopping on Etsy (as you do) and came across this fabric from here, my mum has loved Snoopy since she was a kid and you don’t see much of it in the UK anymore so I ordered it and put it away ready for her birthday. I love the comic strip look, the fabric was lovely to sew and the service was great. I hope she likes it as much as I do.

This year I got the hubster proper boy presents (with help from the monsters). I got him a red stripy sweatshirt from John Lewis (I do plan on stealing this after a month or two), monster no1 chose him some Star Wars Lego which they sat and made at breakfast and monster no2 got Daddy some Xbox games (which he is busy playing now). We spent today at Farming World which is great for the kids, lots of farm animals, birds of prey, outdoor and indoor play areas. We all enjoyed it (especially the Pillows), although my back is suffering now!

As well as all this I have had a few orders to complete and have designed a new fold over clutch which I’ve listed in my Etsy shop. This will be available in more prints soon but feel free to contact me if you would like one in a particular colour way or print.

In case you didn’t know (and if you do sorry for keep going on about it, last time I promise) over the weekend I entered two quilts into the HOKH Maidstone Quilt Show. It was the first exhibition I have entered and it was only a small local event to raise money for the Heart of Kent Hospice, but like I say it was my first so quite a big thing for me. I was really nervous about my quilts being on display for people to see, I know I post pictures on here but somehow that seems different.

I went along on Friday to see my quilts and all the others on display, the monsters and Sean came too. My quilts stuck out like a sore thumb, most of the other quilts were more classic in style and then there were my two, bright colours and bold prints with lots of polka dots involved. I wasn’t expecting to win but while we were there Sean heard a couple of women talking about my Country Garden quilt and they were saying it was their favourite of the show. To me this was just as good as winning, they didn’t know who made it, they didn’t know me, they just liked my work. Sean has been so supportive of me and my sewing and for him to hear this was great, he was so proud and came straight over with a beaming smile to tell me. Here’s the mushy bit I don’t really do mushy so get ready) I am so glad that I have an amazing husband who puts up with his crazy sewing lady wife, he doesn’t mind if the house is a tip, he has to make the dinner or do the washing, he doesn’t even mind listening to me talking about new fabrics and giving me his opinion on new designs. I love him so much and wouldn’t swap him for anything (even if he does snore!)

I just wanted to quickly tell you about another of Lynne’s (over at Lily’s Quilts) Link ups. (yes I know my blog is starting to sound like a Lily’s Quilts fan club but tbh I don’t care!) It’s called Small Blog Meet, any blog with 50 or less followers can join the link up by writing a post about it and putting the post link on Lynnes blog here. Once you have done it visit four blogs on the link up, introduce yourself and follow the blog. Hopefully four of the bloggers will do the same to you et voila, four shiny new followers for you to entertain!

This is the link up button, make sure if you join in you add it to your blog, you can also find it on Lynne’s blog.

Morning, it is Saturday morning here, I’m laying on the sofa in my pjs while the monsters eat there breakfast writing this on iPad.

I like to catch up on my blog reads on a Sunday morning and today is no different, one of the first blogs that popped onto my screen was the lovely Lily’s Quilts. On the 1st of the month Lynne does a great link up post called Fresh Sewing Day, where she tells us all of the projects she has managed to finish for the month and allows readers to link up theirs too. Well I do like a link up it’s such a great way to find new, interesting blogs to read and hopefully make some new bloggy friends too! I also really like the idea of a monthly round up, I don’t know about you but I am a list writer, you can’t beat looking at a list of all the things you need to get done and it’s covered in ticks because you’ve managed to do it. I feel like Lynnes post is like a pretty list all covered in ticks and I like it!

Here is my ticked list, it’s not a long as I would have liked but we have been away and I’ve been busy getting Monster no1 ready for school Aarghhhhh!

Hopefully Septembers list will have more ticks, I’ve got no excuse as I will only have Monster no2 at home once Monster no1 starts big school.

As its a round up blog I thought I would also bore you with my Photo A Day photos, as new projects go I was quite pleased, I really enjoyed it and only missed two days.

I’ve enjoyed doing this so much I’m going to carry on with it, here’s Septembers list for any of you who feel the same.

You can find all the rules (there aren’t that many), instructions and the list (I do love a list!) over on Fat Mum Slims blog, she’s the mastermind behind this fun photography project. The basics are, save the list somewhere, each day you take a photo about the word for that day then share it on Twitter/Flickr/Instagram or anywhere else you want to show it off. It’s a great little reminder of what you have been up to and I find it fun to do.